May 6, 2004

Annapolis, Md. - Last weekend, the United States Naval Academy offshore sailing team finished in second place out of the 23 Naval Academies and 12th overall in the 45-team field in the J/24 class at the Trofeo Accademia Navale regatta at the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno, Italy. Nine races were held during the competition between April 29 and May 2 in solid 10-15 knot winds each day. The Mids were represented by sophomore skipper Greg Storer (Branford, Conn./Branford), senior Kris von Krueger (Baton Rouge, La./Admiral Farragut), junior Chris Lewis (Santa Barbara, Calif./Bishop Diego), junior Carolyn Morin (Litchfield, N.H./Bishop Guertin) and freshman Rebecca Islin (Fairfax, Va./W.T. Woodson), along with team leader Lt. Rob Almeida, USN.

The Italian Naval Academy provided the J/24 class sloops for the Naval Academy teams, while civilians raced in their own boats. Over 500 boats competed in the different classes.

"This was an incredible event," said Almeida. "It was a great combination of competitive racing on the water and a chance to meet fellow Midshipmen from around the world on shore. Our thanks go out to the Italian Naval Academy who took such good care of us."

USNA started off well on the first day, and continued to improve throughout the competition. After three races on Saturday, USNA passed the Croatian team and held a one-point lead heading into the final day of racing. In the final race on Sunday, the Croatian team finished in 10th place, while USNA finished in 14th place. The margin gave the Croatian team the top Naval Academy finish with 92 points, edging out the Mids' 95 points. Poland finished in third place with 113 points.

In addition to its second-place trophy and medals, USNA won the sportsmanship trophy for sailing the complete regatta without any penalties or altercations. The Mids also brought home the trophy for the academy with the top score counting all races (typical scoring discards a boat's worst finish after the completion of five races).

# GO NAVY #